NHS Supply Chain in the UK has formally commenced the procurement process for the management of its logistics services with a planned award date of late 2024. These services form part of its ongoing Target Operating Model (TOM) programme which aims to deliver improved efficiencies and greater value for the NHS. The contract for the current outsourced Logistics Services Provider expires in 2024.

NHS Supply Chain is seeking a single Logistics Services Provider to manage both core logistics services and Home Delivery Services (HDS).

Andrew New, chief executive officer of NHS Supply Chain said: “This is an exciting time of transformation for NHS Supply Chain as we align with the strategic priorities of the wider NHS and scale our operation to support this. Our requirements for logistics services reflect this growth and our change in approach. We have learnt lots from the pandemic and are looking for innovation from bidders with the ability to invest and partner with us to support our long-term vision and strategy of how we can do things differently. This includes increasing our organisational flexibility, capabilities and building more resilience into our supply chain, while limiting our environmental impact.”

The contract includes:
• Creating an integrated logistics network to serve the future needs of the NHS for medical devices, clinical consumables, facilities (including office solutions) and food
• Future development of a warehouse network which is currently made up of nine facilities strategically located across England
• The capability to provide national pandemic response logistics services such as storage and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Implementation of a new warehouse management system (WMS), a significant IT programme of investment
• Provision of the Home Delivery Service and
• Building capability to provide an inbound international logistics service.
The Invitation to Tender (ITT), published on 29 June 2023, invites submissions from bidders interested in operating as the Logistics Services Provider on behalf of NHS Supply Chain to store and deliver products to the NHS.

Bidders then submit a completed Supplier Questionnaire (SQ) and if successful will be shortlisted to submit initial tenders.
NHS Supply Chain’s Logistics Service Provider contract will be for an initial period of seven years with a possible extension of up to 36 months.

NHS Supply Chain is part of the NHS family and manage the sourcing, delivery and supply of healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales. It manages more than 8 million orders per year across 129,420 order points and 16,705 locations, delivers over 35 million lines of picked goods to the NHS annually and its systems consolidate orders from over 1100 suppliers. This enables us to bring value to our NHS partners, helping them save time and money in removing duplication of overlapping contracts. NHS Supply Chain aims to leverage the buying power of the NHS to drive savings and provide a standardised range of clinically assured, quality products at the best value.